Renovating an old property in France is, at the very least, not for the faint hearted. Selling up everything and taking a one way ticket out requires either an enormous leap of faith or, more likely, drinking sufficient quantities of the red stuff to render the brain incapable of rational thought! In our case it was a bit of both - but probably a little more of the latter.

When we started out in 1998 there were no French property renovation sites on the web, so we set about documenting the story of our own property renovation in the Limousin. Now there are more and more French property renovation sites on the internet and growing by the day as the commercial sites get in on the act. Our property renovation site is, and always will be, free, unbiased, and recounted from experience - warts and all - with a touch of humour. After all, no-one should embark on a French property renovation project if they can't take a joke! A sense of humour and a good bottle are often the only things that stand between happiness and cutting your wrists!




Our property search began and ended in the Limousin. We have, over many years lived in and visited many regions in France, but we always returned to this wonderfully natural and friendly corner of the "Hexagon", and what we still regard as the real cultural heart of France. More importantly, this sparsely populated region still remains essentially "French" - you'll know what I mean if you ever visit Provence or the Dordogne! Our selection of websites above will take you to:
* our main French Property Renovation site http://www.les-hirondelles.info
* our Regional site for information on the Limousin region http://www.the-limousin.co.uk
* our Holiday cottages website http://www.les-hirondelles.net


Having completed six years of "early retirement" during which time we've worked harder than at any time in our lives, Les Hirondelles holiday cottages are now in their fourth highly successful season. Our stream of guests come from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand, and include a high proportion who have simply fallen in love with the region and taken the plunge. Whilst this does nothing for our repeat bookings, it is gratifying to know that we have helped many guests with their property searches, renovation questions, and general concerns about settling in France. Talking is thirsty work and has done little to improve the state of my liver, particularly as our season now extends from February through November each year!

That's enough for the intro, now the unashamed advertisement - Joyce and I hope you enjoy the sites and hope that one day you will visit Les Hirondelles to see it all first hand!